


a taste of coffee

by atemzug



Category: BTOB
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Gen, No Plot/Plotless, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24231766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atemzug/pseuds/atemzug
Summary: Coffee has never tasted better. (Actually, it has, but it's fun to have breakfast with friends.)
Relationships: Lee Minhyuk & Lee Changsub, Lee Minhyuk & Seo Eunkwang, Seo Eunkwang & Lee Minhyuk & Lee Changsub
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11
Collections: Les Astres: BTOB Fic Exchange





	a taste of coffee

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jijal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jijal/gifts).



> written for **les astres round 2: geborgenheit**

Minhyuk wakes up to his phone buzzing on his chest, the alarm ringing loudly in the empty living room. He sits up, head mildly throbbing from drinking too much last night and neck hurting from spending the rest of it curled up on his friend's small couch. This isn't anything unusual, waking up in Eunkwang's living room after a night out. It’s been their thing since college, only back then the couch was even less comfortable and the living room was pretty much the entirety of the apartment. He stretches his limbs and wills the familiar pain away, then makes his way to the kitchen. 

It’s been years since college, so having an entire night to themselves acting like stupid kids again happens a lot less than it used to. But even though these nights warrant hangovers with headaches and neck pain Minhyuk’s admittedly a little too old for, he still wouldn’t trade it for the world; not when he gets to spend time with his best friend and his best friend’s other best friend.

Ever since Eunkwang moved out of his parents’ house, he’s been living with his friend from high school, Changsub. They were even supposed to go to the same university too, Eunkwang once told Minhyuk, but unfortunately Eunkwang didn’t get accepted. In retrospect, it was rather fortunate for Minhyuk; if it weren’t so then he wouldn’t have met Eunkwang and Changsub after all, and he ultimately wouldn’t be here right now, this morning, reaching for a can of beer because - despite not being college kids anymore - there was still nothing else to reach for inside his friends’ fridge. 

Coffee would be really nice right now, but a little more alcohol can’t hurt, anyway.

Minhyuk pops the can open, and he’s about to take a sip when he hears footsteps behind him. He turns around and sees Changsub, still in his clothes from last night, looking back at him with his almost perpetually set frown. 

"You're here?" Minhyuk asks. 

"I live here," Changsub replies, setting a bag of takeout Minhyuk's only now noticed on the counter. "Anyway, I figured you might still be here too so I bought you coffee." 

"Thanks," Minhyuk says with a smile and places his drink down, reaching instead for the cup of iced coffee Changsub offers him. "I didn't think _you'd_ still be here. Shouldn't you be at work?" 

It's the first time Minhyuk is ever meeting Changsub the morning after a night out; Changsub has always already left for work whenever Minhyuk woke up. He often wonders why Changsub even agrees to go out with him and Eunkwang, knowing he has to wake up early the next morning.

"Got promoted, remember?" Changsub answers, taking a sip of his own drink. "That's why we were out last night. I have weekends off now."

"Oh, right. Right. That’s good, though.”

“I guess.”

“I mean, at least you don’t have to go to work tired when we go out anymore.”

“You’re right, although it’s not like I drink as much as you do.” 

“You've got a point," Minhyuk agrees, laughing lightly as Changsub allows himself a smile. He recalls the many times Changsub has seen him drunk, and he recalls none that he has seen the other in the same state. He also has blurry memories of Changsub practically dragging him inside their apartment then, and a fond smile involuntarily makes its way on his face. 

Silence follows afterwards, but Minhyuk doesn't mind. It's always been like this with Changsub. Minhyuk has known him for as long as he's known Eunkwang - which seems like forever - but it's never really gone any deeper than a few nods and greetings whenever they run into each other. He’s always been quite the mystery. Despite the silence and barely-conversations, though, there’s always been an odd comfort that Minhyuk feels in Changsub's presence. They were never particularly close, but most of Minhyuk's memories with his best friend involve Changsub, and none of these memories are bad after all. 

The comfortable silence is soon interrupted by said best friend, yawning loudly as he stretches his arms and walks towards them. “I was wondering if you guys are up,” he says. “Ah, Changsubie bought breakfast!” 

"Morning," Changsub greets. "Shouldn't you at least brush your teeth?" 

"I'll do it later," Eunkwang replies. "What time do we need to leave again?"

"Around 1, so you better get ready."

"You guys are heading out?" Minhyuk asks. He should probably get ready to leave soon too, but the thought of leaving right now is deflating.

"We're seeing his niece's recital!" Eunkwang replies excitedly, as if it were his own niece he's talking about. And she might as well be, knowing how close Eunkwang is with Changsub's family and the other way around. "If you're not busy, you could come-- right, Changsub?"

Minhyuk looks at him expectantly, and surprises himself when he realizes he actually wants Changsub to let him come too. He’s never particularly wanted to hang out with Changsub, although he’s never minded his company either, but there’s something about the way this morning is currently going that makes Minhyuk want to stretch it out as much as he can.

“Sure,” Changsub answers. “Just make sure to donate since apparently it’s some fund-raiser thing.”

“Yah,” Eunkwang says. “Why is everything at her school a fund-raiser?”

Changsub shrugs. “They need funds. Didn’t we have that stuff when we were in high school, too?”

“Ah, right!” Eunkwang turns to Minhyuk. “Changsub used to sing a lot back then, that’s why everyone wanted him to go to Howon.”

“They wanted you to go, too,” Changsub retorts.

Minhyuk doesn’t follow much of the conversation from there. He’s heard a lot of anecdotes from his friends’ younger years, some of them he’s already heard more than once, but he doesn’t mind. He likes hearing how happy his friends were when they were young. It should make him feel left out, whenever they’re together and the other two would just talk about experiences not involving Minhyuk, but to him it just feels like they’re sharing these experiences to and with him, like somehow he’s allowed to be part of this something that Eunkwang and Changsub share. It makes Minhyuk’s heart bloom with fondness for them. He takes a sip of coffee and, looking at Eunkwang and Changsub talking and laughing, he can’t help but imagine how nice it must be to have moments like this as a constant in his life. 

His life isn’t boring in any way, but a little more color can never hurt, either. 

It’s a nice thought, one that fills Minhyuk with sudden warmth. Maybe also one that doesn’t have to stay in Minhyuk’s mind.

"We're looking for a new apartment, you know?" Changsub mentions suddenly as Eunkwang yawns, his mouth becoming so big Minhyuk gets the urge to stick in a bagel, but Changsub beats him to it.

Minhyuk perks up, as if the caffeine from his drink is only just hitting. “Yeah,” he recalls. “Eunkwang told me once.”

"Right." Changsub turns to Eunkwang. "We should look for one that has three rooms next time. I feel kinda bad still making him sleep on the couch."

"Eh?” Eunkwang replies. “Our couch is bigger now.”

“It’s still small,” Minhyuk points out.

“Yeah,” Changsub agrees, “and if my mom hears I’m making my friends sleep on the couch she’d scold me.”

Eunkwang laughs out loud, and proceeds to talk about how once during high school, the exact same thing happened. Minhyuk’s heard this story enough times that he already knows exactly how it goes. But he would never mind hearing it over and over again, because Eunkwang always gets so excited every time he recounts it, and Changsub always has this smile on his face that makes him seem less cold and more inviting, and Minhyuk always feels warm.

He takes another sip of coffee, smiling and laughing with his friends, and he thinks coffee has never tasted better.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i hope you are all well <3  
> you can find the other fics in this collection/fic exchange [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/btob_fic_exchange)
> 
> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.qa/crashingfalling)


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